Chapter 152 Survival

"How did the Dian family end up like this?"

Xu Zhenqie looked at the devastated state of the Dian family home from afar and couldn't help but sigh.

The great formation was about to collapse, and a large pit appeared on the spiritual vein. His eyelids twitched. He recognized the aura left around the pit; it was the aura left by the Dian family's Flying Fire Crow Formation.

What exactly happened to the Dian family that forced them to use formations to attack their own spiritual veins?

"Yes, what happened to them?"

Xu Zhenqie muttered to himself, suddenly exhaling a chill, a shadow passing over his heart.

His expression changed instantly. He was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and for a cultivator of his strength, intuition was not something that came out of thin air. After thinking it over, he realized that this was likely a warning from the unseen world.

Thinking of this, he immediately snapped out of his daze, quickly suppressed his aura, and then quietly approached the Dian family's spiritual vein.

The closer they got to him, the more terrified they became. At this moment, a large number of demonic beasts were frantically attacking the Dian family's Flying Fire Crow Formation, but the Dian family's formation did not retaliate at all, and just stubbornly resisted.

This is completely illogical. As we all know, formations are very delicate things. If they are constantly running, many tiny scratches will appear inside the formation flags. This will not only affect the power of the formation, but may even greatly reduce its lifespan. Therefore, it is rare for a family to just take the hits without fighting back.

Apart from that, the entire Dian family was quiet. There was no sound of cultivators talking or walking, and even the aura of cultivators was extremely rare.

"The Dian family is in trouble, and the person who asked our Xu family for help might not even be a member of the Dian family."

This guess made the clan leader's heart pound. He was extremely decisive and turned to leave almost without hesitation.

The moment he turned to leave, a greatsword made entirely of flames came crashing down on him with incredible speed. If Xu Zhenqie were still a Foundation Establishment Level 6 cultivator, he probably wouldn't have been able to dodge this attack at all.

However, he has now broken through to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment. The difference of one level is like heaven and earth. His figure disappeared from the spot in an instant like a phantom. The flaming greatsword fell hard, and the earth was cut open with a huge crack.

"As expected, you are not from the Dian family. Who are you, daring to attack the Dian family in secret during the beast tide?"

Xu Zhenqie's loud voice resounded in all directions, and the Li family members hidden inside the formation clicked their tongues in displeasure.

Li Luofang gave a wink to the people beside him, preparing to risk breaking out of the formation and capture Xu Zhenqie directly.

Just then, Xu Zhenqie turned and left without looking back, quickly leaving the vicinity of the Dian family. The Li family members could only watch her retreating figure with annoyance.

"That old man is incredibly cautious; even after all that, we still couldn't fool him."

Li Zhiying angrily slammed his array plate. After lying low in the Dian family for a hundred years, he had finally returned and naturally wanted to do more for his family.

Taking down the Dian family wasn't enough for him; he also wanted to take the opportunity to kill Xu Zhenqie, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he could do that, it would be a great achievement for him.

"That's not surprising. It would be strange if someone at his level of cultivation couldn't find any clues. But there's no need to worry about that. We can just take him down head-on in the future."

Li Luofang wasn't surprised. He and Xu Zhenqie had been at odds for hundreds of years, and he knew how difficult the other was to deal with. Therefore, he wasn't disappointed that Xu Zhenqie hadn't fallen for his trap.

"Zhifeng, have the Dian family's things already been taken?"

Li Zhifeng patted his storage bag, his face still showing a look of ecstasy.

"Cultivation manuals, elixirs, spirit stones, and the accumulated wealth of the Dian family over a thousand years are all here. I suspect there are definitely more treasures beneath our feet, but they are hidden too deep. We need to dig carefully."

Li Luofang shook his head calmly and immediately said decisively.

"No, we've already succeeded, there's no need to waste time. This operation was decided from the beginning: quick in and quick out."

Moreover, it's not a big deal if the family's spiritual vein is left unattended for a short period of time, but if it goes on for too long, I'm worried that the family might not be able to hold on.

There's no need to put the family in danger for a little windfall.

Li Luofang made the decision immediately, and everyone else had no choice but to agree.

"Zhiying, set a fire before you leave to erase all traces of us. As for whether any members of the Dian family survived, it doesn't matter. In any case, no one except us knows how Dian Mengxiong died."

Li Zhiying nodded, and without any hesitation, set a huge fire. After watching the raging flames engulf the Dian family's residence and confirming that nothing was left behind, they quickly left.

Xu Zhenqie hadn't actually gone very far. He watched the flames ignite from a distance, and only after a long while did he tentatively return to the vicinity of the Dian family.

This approach was incredibly risky, but he couldn't care less at that point. When he got closer, he discovered that the formation had been completely destroyed, and the entire Dian family was engulfed in flames.

"Damn it!"

He hurriedly made a hand seal and used a cloud and rain technique to extinguish the fire. Then he quickly released his spiritual power to search for the source of the fire. After a long time, he sensed a familiar aura from the ruins at the edge of the formation and quickly rescued it.

"Yuan Miao? You're still alive! That's wonderful!"

"Chieftain!"

Xu Yuanmiao looked at his clan leader, and two lines of tears welled up in his eyes. He burst into tears.

Noriko, whom she held in her arms, had already closed her eyes and fainted.

"Chieftain, please save Zifang quickly!"

Xu Zhenqie hurriedly released her spiritual power into Dian Zifang's body, and after confirming that the other party was only suffering from excessive fright and blood stasis, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"This little guy is terrified. He should be fine once we get to a safe place."

By the way, besides you, do you know of anyone else who survived?

Xu Yuanmiao's eyes were already swollen from crying. When she heard her clan leader's question, she hurriedly wiped away her tears.

"Clan leader, I don't know. The moment I heard that the formation was under attack, I took Zifang and hid. I don't know what happened after that."

The clan chief tenderly wiped away the tears on her face, then glanced around.

"I conducted a rough investigation and found that apart from you, there is no trace of the Dian family left. However, it is possible that someone is hiding very secretly."

However, a beast tide is currently erupting, and it's far too dangerous here. Come back to Wuliang Mountain with me first, and after I've settled you in, I'll take the Grand Elder back to search thoroughly."

Xu Yuanmiao was completely at a loss at this moment, and could only nod silently.

"Alright, I'll listen to the clan leader."

In a remote mountain cave some distance from the Dian family home, Dian Xinxiu anxiously watched the location of the Dian family home engulfed in flames.